My Life as a Game
by G. Tops
Summary: its the 127th hunger games, and Sahara is just another girl from the new district, 14, created by the capitols expansion into canada. how long will she last?


Gabby Topits

Pd. 7

My Life as a Game

As the loud trumpet sounded, signifying the beginning of the 127th hunger games, the forces binding each of the twenty six tributes into their own undersized circle around the cornucopia, lifted suddenly. Immediately, over half of the tributes bolted for the cornucopia, shining bright gold under the already overbearing heat of the late morning. As the first tribute reached the cornucopia, she acquired a large javelin and instantly hurled it into the incoming crowd of tributes approaching her, her black hair floating behind her. She was obviously one of the career tributes; no ordinary teenager could throw with such strength and precision. The javelin struck a young tribute from district seven and he immediately stumbled from his fast bolt toward her, his muscular, tan, body then lie motionless and face down in a pool of blood on the dark sand; the first dead tribute of this year's games.

I was not willing to be the second tribute to die on the first day. I could picture it then: Sahara Snow, just another unintelligent young girl to die at the cornucopia. So unimportant, that they wouldn't even feel it necessary to show my death for more than a nanosecond. She was present in every year's games. But was it any more superior for the entire country to witness the nastiest side of you? The side that is willing to slaughter anyone just to save yourself, the whole country enjoying you commit mass homicide? Definitely not to me. My battle plan was to find a pleasant hiding place, and hope to be forgotten by the other tributes until the very end. If I made it to the end, I Decided, I would cross that bridge if and when I came to it.

I immediately sprinted toward the dense evergreen forest to my left, approximately a football field's length away, not bothering to look back and observe the mass murder occurring only yards from me. The sound of my heavy boots hitting the dense pine-needle covered forest, mixed with my heavy panting, was still not loud enough to drown out the many twisted scenarios my mind was coming up with for my imminent death; An arrow in the neck, A Javelin in the heart, A young girls knife slowly cutting away the features of my face, the corners of her mouth turning upwards into a sick, accomplished smile. My last vision being of her finally granting my last wish; to end the pain.

As I stumbled over a tree root, I was instantly brought back to the reality of my situation. The sun was streaming through the canopy overhead, being at its highest point in the sky. I had been jogging for hours; the arena was large this year. As I stopped to observe my surroundings, I decided to climb a near tree and get a better look at the arena. I was growing very thirsty, and would need to find water quickly. As I was climbing up the stout branches of a pine tree, I heard a very loud shriek and nearly fell out of the tree's secure limbs. A series of screams rang out surprisingly nearby. I struggled to keep exceptionally quiet as I made my way higher into the tree. I reached a moderately elevated branch and spotted her, just as a young boy slit her milky white throat, the bloody fingers from her right hand lying on the ground next to her, cut from her body, as she fell limp, a thud on the forest floor. Though I was more than fifty feet away, I could perceive her fragile body quivering. The only connection she had to this world was nearly cut. Just a few more moments before she would fade away into the blackness, nothing but a memory to those who love her.

"The first of many." said the boy, his accomplice appearing out of the surrounding brush. The two of them then slipped back into the safety of the forest as I sat, gawking at their cruelty. I had overestimated the good will of Panem's people. The hope of a quick, simple, death completely drained from my thoughts. A canon shot rang out over the arena, signifying the girl had finally passed on. The immense thirst in my throat was growing stronger. When I was sure the two tributes had migrated far from my hiding place, I descended and headed in the opposite direction.

By that time, it was early evening; the sun had fallen to a low place in the western sky, glowing yellow and orange near the horizon of deciduous trees. I wandered aimlessly in search of any kind of drinkable liquid, the aroma of fresh dirt and pine filling my nose. As my thirst began to grow unbearable, my senses became unclear. My running earlier had evaporated away my entire body's supply of water. I began stumbling around the woods, my whereabouts unbeknownst to me. As I took a deep breath, I inhaled the fresh, crisp scent that could only be one thing-water. The promise of something to drink made me suddenly focus, and I realized I could perhaps hear the faint rumble of a large river somewhere nearby. I rushed toward the sound, the need to be quiet escaping my thoughts. I dashed toward the large breaks of light behind the dark overshadowing of the pine trees in front of me, and burst through the underbrush, appearing on the sandy bank of a large river flowing parallel to the never ending forest. On the other side of the river was a sandy bank that graduated into small rocks. Beyond the rocky bank, a great field of tall grass was visible.

I dizzily made my way to the shallows of the river and collapsed in its small waves. The water was one of the few places I had ever felt safe back home in district 14. My family and I lived along the beach, and I spent an immense part of my spare time diving and swimming in the icy blue waters of the ocean. My home district collected and exported shells, pearls, and other sea treasures to the capital. So many seemingly ordinary afternoons I spent with my dad and brother, exploring the depths of the sea, wishing I could live in those moments and just disappear in the ocean altogether. The extravagant colors and creatures distinguished it as a whole new world. A better world. Away from the Capitol, from poverty, from pain.

My dad trained me to dive and hold my breath underwater; I could last for over five minutes. My swimming style was flawless. The light weight of my body allowed me to swim faster than my father and brother, and dive deeper into the coral reefs around our bay. Those were my favorite memories, the simple ones, just me and my brother diving for intricate shells and competing to prove who could grasp their breath the longest. We even discovered our own little ocean cove, only accessible through the dense forest surrounding the small beach it was located on. He was my best friend; the only person I would never regret wasting my time with. Now I wouldn't even get to tell him goodbye, or how much he meant to me, one last time.

As I withdrew my head and body from the refreshing water, removing myself from my daydreams, I noticed a rather large shadow moving towards me in the water, about ten feet away. As I took a closer look, I noticed that it was a school of rather odd fish, with extravagantly large teeth. When I noticed this I hurriedly leapt completely out of the water and watched them startle at my movement and swim towards me, nearly taking a portion of my leg as one soared out of the water and landed on the beach. When it ceased its awkward thrashing, and seemed to be unconscious from lack of water, I moved in for a closer look. The peculiar fish were a beige color with black fins on each side of their slender bodies. They were approximately two feet long and high, their teeth the size of a large dog's incisor. Definitely a mutation made specifically for the games. From then on I would steer clear of going any farther into the water.

My aimless search for water had taken up much of the daylight. It was now just before sunset, a yellowish glow illuminating the tree line. I sat by the water, leaning on a large boulder with my legs outstretched, reflecting on past, future, and current events, mostly camouflaged by the grayish colors of my clothing. Just after I stood up, I felt an extremely intense sudden pain in my chest, and as I looked down, I saw a metal spear head poking through the middle of my ribs. A javelin had pierced through my spine. I fell to the ground, twitching uncontrollably as a beautiful girl with black hair stood over me, an accomplished grin on her perfect lips.

I had always thought you had to go through excruciating pain to get to the other side, but as I lay there, dying, I realized that a human's body must only be able to handle a certain amount of pain before losing feeling altogether. It was as though I was hearing someone else scream in pain, thrashing on the ground, lying in a puddle of blood across the rocky, river beach. I closed my eyes and focused intensely, trying to stand, but as I attempted to raise my leg, I felt a searing pain up my spine. She had broken it. Just to listen to me shriek in agony. The screaming stopped, and my vision blurred. This was it. The moment I had been anticipating was finally here. I lost feeling completely. My vision went black, and I felt my soul slip away.


End file.
